He'Brew Hop Manna IPA

A bottle with presence, and the by-now almost common promise of hops - but just 6.8% and 65IBU.

I like the label design / presentation from these guys - it's strong, and distinct. Pleasingly, the beer itself delivers on that front too in terms of appearance and presentation - great nose, likely the product of a strong dry hopping regime consisting of centennial, cascade and citra as prominently displayed on label space A1.

From the first sip this is genuinely tasty stuff - not the overwhelming IPA that's become almost the norm in America, but a more balanced suite of flavours including a number of peppery spicy notes in the middle. When you're at this midstage it's almost leaning one almost toward hoppy APA territory, but then a lovely late wash of hops push it pleasingly into IPA territory.

Yum.. this is a truly well balanced brew, really compelling stuff all around. It's not berserk by any means but well judged clearly to style.. shows a great understanding of beer and brewing ability. There's a plethora of hop additions here and a really nicely tipped malt platform that leaves me thinking 'nah this doesn't actually need to be bigger' while still providing a solid body that doesn't overwhelm the starring hops.

For what it's trying to do - ie not just "MOAR OF EVERYTHING" - this is a purposeful, deliberate beer that is just a massive success, and there's not a lot I'd improve. Very impressive indeed. 9.0

Harviestoun Old Engine Oil Porter

I'm a solid and evergrowing fan of dark beers and particularly stouts and porters, so when I first spotted this one at the local first choice for a pretty reasonable fee I felt I had to give it a go despite the somewhat worrying label.

No, not the guinness. More the fact that it calls itself 'Old Engine Oil', with a picture of a car, and then uses its precious first few descriptive words on 'Viscous', 'Bittersweet', and 'Dark'. Well well well. I've got a lot of respect for the advertising angle but was well prepared for it to be a terrible beer.

Out of the bottle this is slick, you feel you can see it nearly stick to the glass. There's a lovely iced coffee coloured head on a solid deep black cola coloured body, though happily the taste doesn't conform.

Indeed, dark roasted chocolate dominates nose and body, bittersweet and lingering throughout. There's an edge of toffee but it's not oversweet. Mouthfeel is heavy-ish but far from troublesomely so, and the light aeration also suits.

I dig this beer greatly. It's a beautifully balanced example of the porter style and warrants a 9.0 from me. A carton for $65? Yes please and my new standard fridge beer for that money.